ALDI beer knockoffs

Is it still an adjudicated if the suit goes on post fermentation?

 

I'm guessing that #2 is the key. You don't see the brands that Aldi is copying in Aldi.

 

Ya that's the one I'm most confused about. I imagine in a setting like a major grocer that has both the "name brand" and the store brand it probably means that you're not supposed to put your similarly packaged store brand right next to the brand it's imitating but instead have all the store brands on one section of shelf or something. The whole "top shelf" and "bottom shelf" thing.

I don't know if it even applies to a store like aldi that doesn't have the name brand their riffing on available. To me, it would be easier to imagine confusion between the aldi beer and the dfh beer (or some of the other posted examples) at aldi where there isn't the original examples also available. But that might just be me

 

I think proximity in this situation refers to parts of the country, not within the same store. If Aldi was a small chain of stores in a state where DFH doesn’t distribute, then Aldi could claim DFH had no trade for their trademark to be damaged.

 

Another thing for people to consider when using these analogies is that in many cases, the store brand is quite often also produced by the maker of the product it’s replicating, and said producer is making money on both.

 

Yes, and that type of defense is what I had in mind with my toe over the line comment.

It seems to me that the odds are very high that their designs are deliberately conceived to get as close as they can to mimic a popular brand without provoking a lawsuit; and I bet that the legal department is involved in the process.

If all else fails, they fall back on how the two brands will never be seen in the same retailer with one another, whether it's Aldi or not.

It's pretty much a game of chicken, where they stare down the other party more often than not.

 

Ya there's no doubt this is well thought out. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to find out that there are marketing/labeling firms that specialize in this sort of line towing.

 

Imitation remains the most since form of flattery.

 

'ere 'ere

 

sincere.

 

Every beer ever made is just a rip off of another beer which is a rip off of another beer which.....

 

....other than when a new style got created.

Your point is true, but we're really talking about the packaging of these beers as the final part of defining them as a 'rip-off'.

 

Maybe that's true in the US, but not the case in Aldi in Ireland, at least.

 

But it’s not a trademark infringement, it’s a potential trade dress infringement. The marks are the individual elements, like “Seaquench” and “Dogfish Head.”

https://www.mandourlaw.com/trade-dress-infringement/

 

Locally I've heard some great stuff about the beers that they sell so I've been trying to find time to get my hands on some.

 

It's interesting, to me, that you can register your trade dress but that you can claim infringement even if you.didn't register it. What do we think the odds are that DFH has registered their trade dress?

I'm also curious about how the "level of sophistication of the intended consumer" thing plays out for beer. I sort of imagine that a super exclusive beer that is targeting the beer nerd primarily would have less trade dress protection since.the intended consumers are, presumably, very well informed about the options in that market. While a beer like sea quench that is pretty clearly targeting a broad audience (given it's flavors even targeting an audience that doesn't otherwise drink beer) might get broader protection.

For my money, DFH definitely made a concerted effort to package sea quench in. A distinctive way. I buy it for my wife fairly regularly and I can usually tell if the store I'm at carries it with a quick look down the isle just based on the color scheme. But the stores I shop at locally have small beer sections, i wonder if there is more cross over evident at bigger beverage store places?

 

This is an interesting aspect (to me), because I imagine that they only sell X volume (where X is sufficient to generate profit) iff it is a knock-off of a well known brand (or perhaps an actual import). That means you're talking about relying on the visibility (and thereby popularity) of the original brand, and what the potential is for someone to be mistaken and be "duped."

Seems like visibility cuts both ways. On one hand, if a beer (seaQuench for example) is so visible that people recognize the general color scheme etc., then it "shouldn't" be able to be confused, because it's advertised everywhere. On the other hand, if it's everywhere, and you're not an "educated consumer," then you're going off things like the color scheme and the description, and not the actual brand of the name.

 

Ya I think the target market would be key. Since DFH is clearly targeting a wide and inherently unsophisticated (how far do their pinkies even extend from the can?!?) consumer base for this beer that that would be the standard. Where as a big famous beer like beer.barrel.time is clearly targeting a highly sophisticated customer so if I want to put my new hype BA stout in a 750 ml bottle with an austere black label and wax dip it, then that metric would work against SP trying to claim infringement on their trade dress. (There's obviously other factors like the marketing channels thing in that case, but I hope you see my point)

 

Apparently you can find it in New England. I remember it and would buy some today if I could find it. Definitely an acquired taste (like IPA)